▲ A taxi equipped with a pedal misapplication prevention device
Traffic accidents involving taxis equipped with pedal misapplication prevention devices have dropped by 33.3%, data showed.
The Korea Transportation Safety Authority announced the results today (October 21) after analyzing the effectiveness of pedal misapplication prevention devices and speed limiters installed on 100 wheelchair-accessible call taxis operated by Incheon Transportation Corporation.
From January to June of this year, the number of at-fault accidents per vehicle for the 100 equipped cars stood at 0.040, marking a 33.3% decrease compared to 0.060 during the same period last year.
The accident reduction rate for 176 unequipped vehicles was 5.3%.
An analysis of device operation data from January to July of this year showed that the pedal misapplication prevention function was triggered 175 times when abnormal acceleration was detected.
In over-speeding situations, the speed limiter function was activated 22,839 times.
Suspicious pedal misapplication behaviors were concentrated among certain vehicles (drivers).
Out of 89 vehicles analyzed, 11 accounted for 148 cases, or 84.6% of the total occurrences, while the remaining 78 vehicles recorded only 27 cases (15.4%).
The 11 vehicles with frequent suspected pedal misapplication incidents showed 4.64 times more sudden accelerations and 2.83 times more sudden starts than the other vehicles.
Their safe driving score also averaged 82.2 points, which was 5.3 points lower than the remaining vehicles (87.5 points).
This concentration of risky driving behaviors was also observed in a previously announced corporate taxi pilot project.
Having confirmed the accident prevention effectiveness of the pedal misapplication prevention devices and the feasibility of early identification of high-risk drivers, Incheon Transportation Corporation plans to install the devices on an additional 50 call taxis for people with disabilities this month.
(Photo provided by Korea Transportation Safety Authority, Yonhap News)
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